


A lot like life

by BrosephJoliver



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7902739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrosephJoliver/pseuds/BrosephJoliver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mother’s desperation sent two prisoners down to earth alone. Now, after almost a year on the ground, resources on the ark are failing, and the remaining prisoners are sent to the ground in a last ditched effort to save the human race. When worlds collide, Clarke and Murphy must try to form an alliance between the grounders and the sky people, but when things don’t go to plan, will they be able to accept that maybe the people they’ve know for their whole lives, are the ones they should be running from.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not much of a writer, but please let me know what you think.

_“I’m giving you a way out”_

_“Why me?”_

_“Three weeks” She paused, a smile ghosting its way onto her lips. “In three weeks, you’ll be 18. And in three weeks, you’ll be taking your last breath.” Prisoner 301 stiffened, straightening his posture he glared at the superior in front of him._

_“What makes you think I won’t die the second I hit the ground?”_

_“I have faith,” She faltered, her mind drifting to her motivation. “I have to”_

_“And why is that?” He enquired._

_“Because” The eldest of the two looked up, for the first time a look of desperation overtook her face before disappearing just as quickly. Prisoner 301 questions if it was ever really there in the first place. “Because, I’m not sending you alone. You’ll be going to the ground with my daughter”_

_The prisoner sucked in a quick breath, eyes quickly darting up to meet the woman’s dark, tired, eyes. A smirk pulled at the edge of his mouth as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And why would I do that?”_

_The older woman took a step forward, face hardening into something that would terrify the most stoic of adults. The prisoner backed up, jolting when he made contact with the cold, metallic confines of his home. His smirk fell away, as he swallowed down the fear that threatened to make its self known. “There’s nothing left for you here. Do you want to spend the rest of your short life trapped between four walls, until the day your tossed out like garbage and forgotten forever?”_

_His resolve faltered, eyes finding the ground “Your family is gone, who’s left to remember you?” at that he snapped his head back up, a fire burning so deeply reflected back at her. He clenched his fists at his side; the only thing stopping him from his attack was the truth. She was right. If he stayed he’d be dead in three weeks, there was absolutely no chance of an alternative. If he left, again, he would probably die, but a probability at this point, was better than a guarantee. And his death was guaranteed if he stayed._

_“You’ll be floated”_

_“Only if they find out. And they won’t”_

_“What’s your plan then?”_

_She nodded towards him, “You are Mr. Murphy.” She pulled out a crumpled piece of off white paper, smoothing it out she handed it over._

_“Tomorrow you’re scheduled for your medical checkup.”_

_Murphy examined the paper. A map. “What’s this for?” He held it up._

_“You’ll be brought to prison medical at exactly 6:30, I’ll examine you and conclude that you’ll need to have some tests run” She waited to see if he was following. He nodded for her to continue. “At 6:45 one guard will walk outside prison medical with my daughter. You’re going to attack me” He looked truly exhilarated at the prospect of finally dominating the very people who put him in this position in the first place._

_She sighed, indicating toward to map in Murphy’s hands. “You have three minuets to get to this location, someone will be waiting for you there. There’s a pod with your name on it.”_

_Murphy chuckled and shook his head. Still fixed on the map, he replied, “Is that all? Would you like me to fix the planet too?”_

_She had studied the prisoner extensively before approaching him, she knew he would be difficult, but she was confident that her daughter wouldn’t be in danger with him. Underneath his hard exterior is just a boy that misses his parents._

_“This will work” she eyed him, trying to understand what he was thinking. “I won’t accept failure. You will only be let into that pod with my daughter by your side.” Annoyance crossed his face. He was never good at taking orders, or obeying authority to begin with, but this time was different. If all went to plan, he would be free of all constraints in less than 24 hours. No chancellor, no prison walls, and no impending death. He would be able to breath fresh air, feel his toes on the soft beds of grass that he’d read so much about. No sign of the hard, artificial monster that they’ve called home for 97 years. Just. Freedom._

_“You’ve got yourself a deal councilor Griffin.”_


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

 

Ten months later

A sharp pain rippled through the side of her body. The point of impact was red hot, throbbing, begging for relief. Then again, a sudden pain radiated from her left shoulder blade. Her feet were no longer on the ground. She was falling. The dirt beneath her rose in a cloud of dust as she reached out to break her fall. Her palms grazed the dirt as her hands slipped from beneath her. The impact of the fall was too much. She felt coldness on her throat, slipping down towards her chest. A silent relief in the fierce heat of the sun. The sword halted just above her heart, which was now beating wildly below the surface. She was blinded, the sun the only thing in sight.

“Yu gonplei ste odon” Her world darkened, and her body cooled. Her attacked advanced, standing over his victim silhouetted by the bright rays of the sun. He bent down, a grin appearing on his dark face. The cold presence of the sword disappeared as he reached out a dust caked hand.

She slapped it away in annoyance and groaned, “I’m improving. Not as much as I would like to.” She grinned up at him, wiping her hands onto her pants. “Must be my teacher.”

“If that is what you choose to believe Skai girl. Just remember, I’ve defeated you many times in the past week, each one as satisfying as the next”

“Shof op, Gustus!” The older warrior ducked around the dilapidated building just as a shoe landed on the exterior with a thud. A dirty footprint left behind, missing Gustus by barely an inch. His booming laughter grew softer as the distance became greater.

Clarke had been on the ground for a little over ten months now. The homesick feeling she once had from day-to-day had dimmed to a distant longing, as her reminders of home became less and less. The harsh, sterile smell of the ark had once been a comfort. A reminder of where she belonged, a reminder that she was safe, or at least, she would have been for a few more years. But now, having been exposed to the natural atmosphere of the ground, the unbelievable fresh smell of the towering trees, the incredible feeling of walking through the sand and the dirt, the seemingly endless expanse of ground yet to be explored, all of it only made her resent the restrictive walls of the ark. She could never go back, and she never really wanted to.

“Klark?” the sky girl’s head snapped up. Wincing as the sun blinded her once again, she quickly stumbled to her feet.

“Commander…”

“Why is it that you sit in the dirt Klark?” The Commander’s green eyes found ocean blue. Authoritative and harsh to those not given the privilege to see all sides of their leader, but to Clarke they reflected amusement and just a hint of concern that she had, once again, found the sky girl on her ass. The Commander craned her head to the side, urging Clarke to follow.

“I just need some more time” Clarke followed next to the commander, heading away from the training grounds and towards the lake.

“Do you not believe Gustus to be an inadequate teacher?” The blonde flushed a brilliant red at the implication. She chanced a glance at the woman next to her; the commander’s face remained stoic and impassive.

“How long were you watching?”

“Long enough to know you’re hesitating.” The commander stopped, turning to face Clarke. Worry was etched across her face. “If you hesitate in battle you won’t have anybody reaching to help you back up, Clarke” she turned and started off in the direction of the lake once again. “I will train you.”

“Lexa. No.” Clarke reached out, grabbing the commander’s clothed forearm, “You’re the commander, you don’t have time to train just one person.” She removed her hand, dropping her weapon to the ground at the edge of the water. Her shoes were gone not long after, and soon she was ankle deep in the crystal clear water. Relief washed over her body as the cool water sent a chill up her legs.

She heard the commander whisper quietly behind her, “I have time for you.”

Clarke sighed with contentment and turned to face the woman behind her. “Lexa” their eyes met, “I’ve only been training for two months. Before I came to the ground, I’d never even seen a fight, let alone been in one with weapons.” She started for the edge of the lake, feet leaving the cool relief of the clean water. “I know progress is slow right now, but you don’t need to worry about me. Gustus won’t let anything happen to me.”

The commander bowed her head slightly in acceptance, at least for now.

“Ok?”

“Ok”

“Os!” the blonde smirked as she advanced on the other woman. She reached out her hand to cup the back of Lexa’s neck, bringing her in closer. The brunette shivered as Clarke’s breath flowed over her cheek, goosebumps left in it’s wake. “Oops…” Her thumb ghosted over the commander’s jawline, “You’ve got some dirt on your face, right...” she moved to the space just above her lip, wiping at the smooth skin she found “… here.”

The commander took in a shuddering breath, before turning her attention to the woman in front of her “we should take care of that.”

“I can’t have my people thinking that I don’t know how to take care of myself”

Clarke took the commanders hand and lead her towards the edge of the lake, only stopping to discard of their remaining items of clothing, “No, we can’t have that.”

 

X

 

         The walk back from the lake was peaceful and admittedly much more relaxing than the walk there had been. It wasn’t dampened by worry, or by anticipation of the challenges to come. They were in a rare period of peace; they had time to sleep under the stars, and to hike through the overgrown trees until their muscles begged for rest. Lexa only worried that the peace wouldn’t last. And it wouldn’t. It’s just a matter of time now. They’d not been attacked by the mountain men since the drop ship landed on grounder territory all them months ago. And when it did land, Clarke and Murphy had no chance of surviving by themselves on the ground, their luck only changed when Lincoln found them before the mountain did.

         Clarke walked through the streets of what had been her home for the last ten months, taking in as much as possible. The children playing in the streets, pretend fighting with their paper swords. Their parents trying not to trip over them as they wove through the legs of those standing. The laughter isn’t something she’ll ever get tired of.

She reached her destination as the sun sank behind the trees, the temperature bordering on just right and cold. She pushed open the large wooden door of the cottage she was given when they first arrived. She doesn’t use it anymore, but it was her safety for many cold, harsh months.

The smell of dinner reminded her of her own hunger as the delicious aroma filled her lungs, and for a second she was reminded of her own mother, and the unique smells that she would open the door to after another failed recipe. She pushed the memories aside as she moved through the cottage, stopping briefly to remove her coat. She moved towards the sitting area as she heard movement beyond the door. A brunette man sat at the table, fingers digging into what looked like the remains of a deer.

She sniffed the air, moving toward the table. “I’m starving!”

She sat opposite the brunette and reached out toward her plate, only to have it drug out of her reach as her finger clamped down, grasping nothing. She looked up in confusion, the man only tilted his head and leaned forward with a strange look on his face, “Do I know you?” he said, unable to hold back the smirk on his face.

Clarke rolled her eyes and pulled the plate back, digging in fingers first before placing that first bite in her mouth. “I’m not that absent, Murphy. You’d think you hadn’t seen me in months”

“I should only be so lucky.”

On the ark they had rarely interacted, given that they were both imprisoned made it damn near impossible. But based on the little interaction they had had beforehand, neither were happy when they realized they were going to be stuck together on the ground. Forced to work together to survive. A lot had changed over the past few months, and now Clarke can’t imagine being in this position with anyone else.

“Please! You’d be a wreck without me.” they shared a laugh, both aware of the uniqueness of their situation. She took another bite, before looking over to the delinquent sitting across from her with a smirk “How was your training today?”

Murphy raised his eyebrow, challenging her. “How was yours?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought.” He returned his attention to his nearly empty plate, scooping up the remaining meat and dabbing it in the sauces left over on the plate. “You look awfully clean for someone who just went a couple rounds with Gustus,” Murphy glanced up in time to see the faint blush growing on her cheeks, in the dim light of the candles easily mistaken as heat from the flames, “No doubt you fell on your ass again.”

She only stuffed more meat into her mouth, not bothering to reply. Her companion’s smirk grew with his next question, “Have you seen the Commander today?”

She finally looked up, her own smirk matching his as she leaned forward on her elbows. “Hmm, we may have crossed paths. And what about you? Did you see…” she leaned back in her chair, raising her fingers to scratch across her chin. A creak sounded in the quiet room as she raised her eyes to the roof of the cottage “… Caris, was it?”.

Murphy blushed, opening his mouth to respond when the cottage light up with a brilliant light, followed by an explosion that shock the room and everything in it. Clarke’s plate crashed to the ground, shattering into four uneven pieces as she jumped out of her chair and raced to the window, Murphy by her side in an instant.

Streaks of smoke spread across the sky, getting closer to the ground before they disappeared behind the towering trees. Clarke glanced at murphy only to see him wide-eyed, already looking back at her. There’s not question as to what made them smoke trails, or where they came from.

“They’re sending people down?”

She went to respond, at that moment the door crashed open. The commander was stood in front of them in no time; war paint smeared from the wear of the days activities. Indra was stood next to her, ready and waiting. “Clarke. What is this?”


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Chaos. That’s the only way to adequately describe the mood in Polis at this moment. The villagers had witnessed the bright descent of the drop ship, cutting through the atmosphere with almost no effort. A trail of smoke and fire the only thing left in its wake. Those who hadn’t been outside to see it, had been witness to the deafening sound of impact, in reality, the mediocre sound was made all the more frightening by the rumbling forest floor that shook Polis. Elders and children alike, scrambled to get home. To find their families, and to wait for the commanders words. They wouldn’t have to wait long. When the commander emerged from the small cottage shared by The Sky People, troubled but bound by duty, she announced a scouting mission would be leaving the next morning.  
“They are of no danger to us at this time. Surviving through the night will be their first priority” Her hand went to the handle of her sword, grasping it as if preparing for battle. Jaw clenched, she continued. “If they fight” she tilted her head down and to the side, any further and she would have been looking at Clarke. Finally she turned her gaze back to the village, “then so do we”. Polis erupted with cheers, a culture of violence seeping through every pore of the people bowed in front of the commander. Women and men, young and old. Blood must have blood. _Blood must have blood._

X

With one final look towards the commander, Clarke turned towards the cottage she once shared with Murphy, unsettled dust the only indication of where she once stood. The lingering smell of smoke and fuel, and the rumbling of the forest ground had reminded Clarke of her own descent to earth just months ago. Trapped in a metal cage with probably the most infuriating person on the Ark was not how she pictured her journey to the ground. So much had changed since those first few days, and Clarke could have never imagined being where she is now. Just months ago, the blondes first instinct would have been careless, retrieval the only thing on her mind. The idea of seeing her mother again, of seeing all the faces she once knew so intimately would have taken over, and she would have taken off in their direction. But as she spent more time with the grounders, she found a new home, one without betrayal, one where people were happy. These people may have locked her away but it was for the safety of their own, not the protection of their secrets. As she lay down on her old bed, faint noise coming from the dining area the only indication of her ex-roommates presence, she remembered just how she got here. How much different it could have been. She remembers the grounder that saved her life. Saved Murphy’s life. The kindness of a stranger kept her alive for the first few weeks on the ground. A chuckle escaped her as she remembered the unusual tactics the grounder had used, and the downright stupidity that came from both travelers that almost got them killed more than once.

  
_A deafening jolt shuddered throughout the metal pod, pain receptors working overtime, sending shimmering’s of pain from head to toe. The prisoner’s ears were ringing a loud, continuous screech. Clarke closed her hands over her ears in an attempt to dim the offensive noise, it only worked to intensify it. She jolted as her hand made contact with open flesh, she parted her fingers, opening the broken skin of her forehead. Assessing the damage. Would it need stitches? Did they have any supplies? Suddenly awaken, the sat up right, dizzy from the movement, she glanced unsteadily to her side. Her companion was hunched over, hands hung loosely at his sides, and an uncomfortable amount of blood was seeping steadily from his head. She saw herself reach towards him, grasping his shirt; she tried again when she felt nothing in her hand. Her grip was weak, and her fingers could barely curl around the material of his plain, dirty shirt. She settled for a hard punch to his shoulder, which ended up being merely a soft tap. Again, just a bit harder._  
 _“Murphy?” Her voiced echoed in her ears, barley audible over the noisy ringing from the landing. She tried again, accompanied with a tug to his elbow, blood smearing between her fingers, whose blood, she didn’t know. “Murphy?” A grunt barely sounded, followed by another. She could see his fingers flexing at his sides, feeling for their current situation. “Hey, wake up.” With a groan, she leaned forward. The energy it took caused fear, knowing how weak she was in this moment. How vulnerable. With a great deal of effort, she was looking into the confused, and bruised face of her companion. She smiled reassuringly, only to receive a disgruntled look on return. Just as quickly, he was turned away._  
 _“Welcome to the ground princess.” With an arrogant and pained smirk, he took in a deep breath, connecting his eyes to her own. “I trust the journey was to your satisfaction?”_  
 _Irritation enveloped her as her smile was wiped away. Even in the midst of pain and confusion, Murphy still managed to be an insufferable ass. Regretting the weakness of her earlier punches, she contemplated another. She doubted she could do any damage in this condition; she would just have to wait. The ringing had died down, as the reality of their situation began to take over. Looking through the glass separating them from the outside world, a gasp took her breath away, she could feel the dull burn from the sun, she could see the vast expanse of trees. Nothing was covered in darkness, the endless vacuum of cold, dark skies were gone, and here, in front of them, lay instead endless stability and ground, covered in layers upon layers of what she had only ever dreamed of. Her excitement took over, and with one final look towards her companion, she grasped the cold door handle in her palm._  
 _“Are you ready?” He just looked ahead, breathing steadily, the smallest hint of a smile appeared on his face. He glanced at her in his peripheral, “Let’s do this.”_  
 _“We could die right now.”_  
 _He finally turned to look at her fully. “What are you waiting for?”_  
 _Clarke grinned, and tugged on the handle, after a seconds delay the door gave way, a gush of cool, clean air mixed with the oppressive, recycled air of the pod. Filling their lungs with something new, something anticipated by their people for generations upon generations. One second, two seconds, three. Steady breathing was the only sound as they adjusted to the fact that they were still alive. For now. They froze as a gust of wind whipped past, wrapping around their limbs, and continuing through the forests. Jostling the branches as they passed. Leaves sunk down to the forest floor, crunching beneath the weigh of the new arrivals footsteps. They had made it. With another deep breath, a thud sounded behind her. On the ground, clutching at the blood seeping from his wound, prisoner 301 groaned in pain. Feeling the dirt fall between his fingers for the first time was not nearly wonderful enough to prevent the pain of his injured head. Awareness of her own injuries became apparent as she scrambled to help Murphy up. Dizziness took over, tripping her progress, and sending her right down with him. In that moment she took in their surrounding with a hint of worry, they were alone, she didn’t know of the supplies that were brought down with them, and they were thrust into a situation where dealing with things later isn’t an option. Oh, how she would love to just take things in, to see and touch everything she’d read about, but now was not the time. They didn’t know how much time they had, if the radiation would kill them, if something, or someone else would. Their wounds shouldn’t be the end of them. Her mother taught her enough to know that head wounds bleed excessively, and under the assumption that the pair had no internal damage, their biggest threat was the almost certain concussions that they had._  
 _“Come one.” She unsteadily rose to her feet, dragging Murphy up by the collar on the way, gaining some satisfaction from the pained groan accompanied with it. “We need to find somewhere to stay the night. We don’t know anything right now, but we need supplies and rest.” She nodded towards the craft, climbing back inside to look for supplies, Murphy joining her on the other side._  
 _With defiance, he looked at her through his open door, “When did we decide that you were in charge?” He folded his arms across his chest._  
 _“I don’t see you coming up with a better plan.” With that, he begrudgingly climbed into his seat, sifting through the wreckage to find what they needed._

A soft knocking startled her back into the real world. Jumping slightly, she gripped onto the covering of the soft bed, turning to face the direction of the noise. In the doorway stood her companion, hunched over, not saying a word. He didn’t need to.  
“I’m ok.” She said.  
He gave her a pointed look, before sighing a reply. “What were you thinking about just now?” She hesitated, a smile breaking the edges of her hard lips. “Just about how we go here.” She laughed, “we should have died down here.” The taller prisoner responded with a barely audible scoff, running his hand through his dirty brunette hair. He rolled grit between his fingers, jovial at the thought of taking a bath later. With a grin taking over his face, he said, “Now would I have let that happen? Your mother was up my ass about keeping you alive.”  
With a final glance in his direction, she let out a full-bellied laugh. “Yes. You absolutely would have.” He conceded with a small nod. Silence coated the room; the noise of children and animals outside enveloped the cottage. “My mother,” distractedly, she fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt. “She’s on the ground. Do you think she made it?”  
“She’s too stubborn to die.” He could still see the worry etched across her face, “Don’t worry so much. The commander sent Lincoln out with the scouts.” With that, she relaxed slightly; remembering her own introduction with the intimidating grounder. An introduction that now seems almost comical.

  
_They had been searching the ground from what seemed like forever, and so far they had only been shocked to come across a creature they had read about. Except this one looked different, it was grotesquely deformed, and not nearly as inviting as they are read to be. The pair were walking a few feet apart, when they felt something small and cool cover their skin. Tiny droplets fell from the sky and began to blanket them in a refreshing cover. They both threw their arms out, dropping their supplies to the ground, and looked up to the sky. Droplets were falling from between the brush of the tops of the tallest trees, mixing with the dirt and blood that was covering them. They were laughing and free. They had no walls closing in on them, no small windows as their only insight to the outside world, just them, and the freedom to see, feel, and hear everything._   
_“Rain.” Clarke was looking at Murphy, a look he’d never received before. On the Ark, he was trouble, nobody gave him the time of day, nobody smiled in his direction. He never had a real friend that wasn’t just looking for something in return. And now, now Clarke, a girl he found to be privileged and irritating was looking at him as if she wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else. Like there’s no one she’d rather share this first experience with, so carefree, and unaware of his previous reputation. Counselor Griffin had come to him because she wanted something from him, she could manipulate him, squeeze him until he truly had nothing left. And he didn’t. For the longest time he’s been alone. It can make a person jaded, it hardens their walls. But he could feel it slipping away with the cool water touching his face, the fresh air filling his lungs, and the brown leaves crunching underneath the weight of his step. “It’s everything I imagined,” she said. Overwhelmed, by the assault of all these new experiences._   
_His stoic exterior slipped minutely, “It’s nice.” He could feel himself smiling, “but we don’t have time for this.” He stalked past her, brushing shoulders on the way. Disappointed, but understating that he was right, Clarke picked up her supplies and followed on after him. They had some water and a small supply of food, but they also had no practical skills in the art of hunting. Clarke knew of a settlement called Mount Whether, he father had told he all about it before he was floated. It was supposed to be safe, and house endless supplies. He never got around to telling her where it was, and now it was up to them to find it themselves._

X

_The sky had darkened considerably by the time they found a place to stay the night. The exhaustion from their trip, and the effects of their head injuries hit full force when they were seated. Their muscles ached painfully, and their heads throbbed. They were still filthy; the small rain-shower was nowhere near enough to wash away the grime and blood that covered their bodies. The dusty floors of the cave were home for now, closing in on them the tall rocks curled over their heads, just high enough to stand completely. Big boulders were scattered throughout the cave, making their rest decidedly uncomfortable, jagged edges dug through their thin clothing, tearing holes, and splitting open skin. They were too tired to care. As soon as they hit the ground, they were peacefully asleep, and blissfully unaware of the outside world. The rare hours of calm consumed them, and overtook their survival instincts completely._

_A gust of wind whipped through the cave, a loud whistling sound followed closely as it battled its way through. With it came drops of water that started to fall heavily after the two were out. Shivering from the drop in temperature, in a state of half sleep, Murphy rolled over. His back now facing the cave entrance, he curled within himself in an attempt to preserve heat. Small pebbles crunched under his weight, the sharp edges dug into his skin, waking him from his sleep. With a groan, the delinquent pushed himself up off the ground, deeply inhaling the fresh rain smell swept into the cave. It was dark. He looked around, adjusting to the darkness, for a second he was reminded of the cold, dark prison that he had called home for so long. He curled his finger around piles of dirt with relief, he wasn’t back inside, the walls weren’t towering over him with endless height. The moon’s light filtered into the cave, bouncing off of the jaggered rock walls, casting shadows all over. His eyes settled on a lump not a few feet away. Golden hair was glowing in the shine of the moon, it gave him pause. His companion looked so peaceful, and in that moment all he felt was resentment. He shook it away, as a shiver ran down his spine, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He couldn’t see blonde anymore, in its place was a dark shadow. The prisoner whipped around, facing the figure. Frozen, he tried to speak, to scream, to do anything but he was incapable. Towering over him with bulging muscles, and absolute confidence was trouble. He pushed himself backwards and called for Clarke, slicing open the palm of his hand under his weight. He scrambled towards to teenager, grabbing her by the top and shaking her violently, all the while the man blocking the entrance to their sanctuary stood completely still. He thought he could see a smirk under the shadows, but he couldn’t be sure._   
_“Clarke!” With frantic eyes, she jolted up. And with a painful crack her forehead slammed directly into her companions, a pained groan soon followed as their wounds from earlier began to seep with blood. Confused and angry, she advances on Murphy, ready for a confrontation when she heard rubble crumble a few feet away from her. She looked toward to the sound, still in a daze but more alert, and with no more than a second to process the figure in the entrance way that was advancing on them both. Swiftly, he dodged boulders and rocks taking their attention away from the pain. At the same moment, both prisoners saw the shimmering of a weapon in the man’s hand, impressively carved, and expertly held, it promised nothing but a painful and quick death. They weren’t trained for this. She contemplated giving up and just accepting that they’d reached the end, but she wanted to do so much more, they didn’t survive the landing just to die at the hands of another. She jumped to her feet, pulling a distraught Murphy with her. With a quick scan, she realized that there was only one way out, and it was behind the advancing man. With a loud yell, she ran forward hoping to be agile enough to go around the towering man, she checked to see if Murphy was following, seeing him on her tail, she looked back forward, but it was too late. A small rock caught the side of her foot and she went down. Landing hard in a cloud of dust, her head bounced off of the ground echoing a sickening crack throughout the cave. Not a second later, a weight pushed the air out of her lungs and landed heavily on her back with a soft thud. The last thing she saw was the diming light as the tall figure moved closer towards them, a strange, deep rumbling that resembled a chuckle grew louder with every step._

Clarke smiled at the memory. They truly had no idea what they were doing, and if it went a little bit differently, they definitely wouldn’t have made it to Polis.  
“That was different.” She said. “Two people aren’t a threat to them.” He knew she was right, but he just stayed quiet. Shuffling in the doorway, he made his way over to her, settling comfortably next to her on the bed.  
“Hopefully we find them before Mount Weather does.” He squeezed her hand in silent support, knowing it was for his own comfort too, she squeezed back. “You knew they would come down eventually.”  
She turned to look at him. “I know, I just thought we had more time.” She sighed, a niggling worry in the back of her head troubled her. This was going to start a war, and she’s not so sure that she would be on the side of the Arkers when it did. She knows Murphy wouldn’t, he had no one left to care about before he came down. The grounders were his people now, they were her people. Lexa was hers.  
“Enough of the depressing talk, are you staying here tonight?”  
She laughed, forgetting all that had happened for just a second. “What are you really asking, Murphy?”  
He smirked, “I assume Lexa has some Commander duties to attend to.” Clarke elbowed him in the side, satisfied with his pained groan as he clutched the point of impact, soothing the sharp burn. He retaliated just the same, and soon then they were both in tears from laughter.  
“Jerk.”  
“You love me.”  
“I hate you.”  
With a smile he said, “I hate you too.”


End file.
